Creed Green Irish Tweed

justinp · Jun 2, 2011

So I got a bunch of decants from Mudassir a few days ago, and I've been going through and testing various things. Today I put a shot of GIT on one wrist, and a shot of Cool Water on the other. I had smelled Cool Water before, but never the Creed. I wanted to do a side-by-side comparison of the two, which are widely regarded as quite similar.

Two observations.

1. They are quite similar. Not identical by any means, though. Green Irish Tweed is fuller, smoother, a bit more rounded. Cool Water is sharper, more high-pitched if that makes any sense. They both smell as though they're made with a big dose of synthetics-- calone and so forth-- but the synthetics in the Davidoff seem a bit screechier. The drydown exposes additional differences; Cool Water stays with the calone overdose and fresh synthetics much longer than the GIT, which seems to dry down to a somewhat more traditional base.

I certainly wouldn't shell out for the Creed over the Davidoff; they just don't seem different enough in character to justify the difference. In my view, Cool Water can play the same role in a fragrance wardrobe that GIT can, at a fifth or less of the cost.

2. I just don't really understand what the fuss is about GIT! With all the disdain leveled at 'boring fresh aquatics' on the various fragrance boards I read, I can't understand the simultaneous fascination with GIT. It seems firmly in the camp of Acqua di Gio and so on. And i can't help but think that AdG might actually be the better expression of the genre...

Anyone have thoughts?

maxman · Jun 2, 2011

I bought a sample of GIT and was busting at the seams to try it.
When I did..... I didn't like it :sad:

.
It smells like a chemical plant on me.
I tried really hard to like it, but it just doesn't work on me.

I agree that there seems to be a fascination with it.
Why? I don't know.

justinp · Jun 2, 2011

maxman said:
I bought a sample of GIT and was busting at the seams to try it.
When I did..... I didn't like it .
It smells like a chemical plant on me.
I tried really hard to like it, but it just doesn't work on me.

I agree that there seems to be a fascination with it.
Why? I don't know.

Well, part of it has to be the obsession with anything Creed that a lot of the frag boards seem to have. I've never quite understood it. People get downright fanatical...

jdpgator · Jun 2, 2011

justinp said:
Well, part of it has to be the obsession with anything Creed that a lot of the frag boards seem to have. I've never quite understood it. People get downright fanatical...

I completely agree on the obsession with Creed, but it goes on both sides of the fan base. For some Creed can do no wrong and they will proclaim its superiority at every chance for others Creed is the most vile company around and those fans simply cannot remotely fathom how someone can have an opinion otherwise.

For me I like some Creed products, certainly not all and it is not the only company I support. Most importantly my wife really likes some Creed products, such as GIT, on me.

With regards to Cool Water vs GIT I get it completely. They are similar no question about it, but just as with my fishing rods (G Loomis vs St Croix) or maybe better suited for this community razor x vs razor y, similar is not the same.

For Christmas I received about a dozen samples and some of the can't miss items just did not work for me. One specifically, Hermes Terre d'Hermès, was a no on me but the wife loved it on the son. On me Cool Water is nice, synthetic, but nice. GIT on the other hand is more natural and presents better.

Niles · Jun 2, 2011

jdpgator said:
On me Cool Water is nice, synthetic, but nice. GIT on the other hand is more natural and presents better.

This sums up my thoughts about these two. I'm not a Creed fanboy (GIT is the only one I've sampled), but it seems to me to be made of more quality ingredients than CW, or maybe it is simply better blended.

tehtimmeh · Jun 2, 2011

There are a few reasons GIT gets the hype it gets and I do agree it is very much overhyped.

1. GIT was the frag that put CREED on the map in terms of popularity back in the 80s, so it has that legacy.

2. It was one of the first (not the first, as Issey stakes that claim) to revolutionize men's fragrances from the powerhouse scents of the 80s to the lighter end of the spectrum and eventually to the aquatic lifeless filled scents that designers produce today. Still GIT is sort of middle of the road. It's not a powerhouse, but it's not really an aquatic either. I don't think it's in the same boat as AdG and other aquatics. It is still very accessible to most noses.

Personally, I like GIT, but I do not love it. I can tell enough difference between the quality of it and Cool Water to never wear the latter. The top notes are similar, but after that, they vary greatly. I have GIT in the rotation primarily because it is the wife's all time favorite. Would I buy it if she were indifferent? Not sure, but probably not. YMMV.

Oh, and T&H Freshman is a much better clone of GIT than Cool Water IMO.

blary54 · Jun 2, 2011

I think GIT is pretty good...but Creed's prices are too steep for my blood.

BingeAndPurge · Jun 2, 2011

Wearing GIT today, and this is the first time I've actually enjoyed it. It lasts on my skin, but usually gets cloying as the day goes on. Today, it dried down to a nice manly base for some reason. Maybe the heat and having gotten some sun lately made the chemistry work better.

Anyway, I do agree with you on it being overpried, overhyped, synthetic (especially the middle), and not worth it in my budget over Coolwater. I don't wear Coolwater though, go figure.

Cheapshot · Jun 2, 2011

The difference I detect in GIT over Coolwater is the ambergris... or synthetic ambergris - whatever the case may be.

I too think GIT is not an aquatic per se. It has a fuller, more rounded aroma, and a classic feel... and I wear Coolwater for the price.

StylinLA · Jun 2, 2011

I'm grabbing the baton and running for Creed here. GIT is one of my favorites, though I don't wear it much of late.

I have a lot of scents, and it's easily the most versatile I have. Works for young guys, old guys, women like it, men like it.

After an imitator like Cool Water comes along, it's easy to dismiss if price is an issue.
With the years that have passed, it becomes harder to relate to how ground breaking GIT was. It is, I'm quite sure, far and away their best seller.

If you're a very logical person, pragmatic- it is easy to convince yourself you might as well roll with Cool Water. If you're a more artistic, person, romantic, you'd probably want the original real deal. While the scent is similar, even a lot hard asses that hate Creed will acknowledge that GIT is using better quality ingredients.

All these scents are major major YMMV, so I'm not here to convince anyone they should like it. If you're going to pop for a fancy *** bottle of something, you should love it.

As many of you know, I'm a bit into fragrances. Creed GIT is the one that really lit the fire. I remember like yesterday when the SA showed me the black bottle and I sampled it. Sorry- it was clear from the outset that this was head and shoulders above the regular designer fare I had always worn. I felt like a king when i wore it. It was worth it for me. Started me o. The path to fragrance ruin.

As to Creed, IMO they represent the "Gillette" of the niche fragrance arena. They are probably the most recognized niche perfume. They have a big footprint in a lot of high end stores. They got away for years with creating a real mystique about themselves that still carries over. There are constant threads started at Basenotes by newbs that come in and say "which Creed will I like." All they know is they want a "Creed." Drives a lot of fume heads crazy.

But GIT is masterpiece to me.

justinp · Jun 2, 2011

StylinLA said:
I'm grabbing the baton and running for Creed here. GIT is one of my favorites, though I don't wear it much of late.

I have a lot of scents, and it's easily the most versatile I have. Works for young guys, old guys, women like it, men like it.

After an imitator like Cool Water comes along, it's easy to dismiss if price is an issue.
With the years that have passed, it becomes harder to relate to how ground breaking GIT was. It is, I'm quite sure, far and away their best seller.

If you're a very logical person, pragmatic- it is easy to convince yourself you might as well roll with Cool Water. If you're a more artistic, person, romantic, you'd probably want the original real deal. While the scent is similar, even a lot hard asses that hate Creed will acknowledge that GIT is using better quality ingredients.

All these scents are major major YMMV, so I'm not here to convince anyone they should like it. If you're going to pop for a fancy *** bottle of something, you should love it.

As many of you know, I'm a bit into fragrances. Creed GIT is the one that really lit the fire. I remember like yesterday when the SA showed me the black bottle and I sampled it. Sorry- it was clear from the outset that this was head and shoulders above the regular designer fare I had always worn. I felt like a king when i wore it. It was worth it for me. Started me o. The path to fragrance ruin.

As to Creed, IMO they represent the "Gillette" of the niche fragrance arena. They are probably the most recognized niche perfume. They have a big footprint in a lot of high end stores. They got away for years with creating a real mystique about themselves that still carries over. There are constant threads started at Basenotes by newbs that come in and say "which Creed will I like." All they know is they want a "Creed." Drives a lot of fume heads crazy.

But GIT is masterpiece to me.

Well, I think a lot of it for me is just that I grew up in the era of fragrances that GIT spawned. I'd probably love the stuff too if it was the first fresh aquatic-y scent that I had ever smelled-- hell, the first that existed.

In other vaguely related news, I put a shot of this 'lavender cologne' that my mom had lying around on one arm earlier this evening, and busted out laughing. It's the same synthetic lavender scent that's in the topnotes of Cool Water! Except dialed up to eleven and headache inducing. Dried down to what I would generously describe as bug spray. But danged if it wasn't exactly the same aromachemical...

Featherweight · Jun 5, 2011

justinp said:
2. I just don't really understand what the fuss is about GIT! With all the disdain leveled at 'boring fresh aquatics' on the various fragrance boards I read, I can't understand the simultaneous fascination with GIT. It seems firmly in the camp of Acqua di Gio and so on. And i can't help but think that AdG might actually be the better expression of the genre...

Anyone have thoughts?

It's a misleading scent. GIT is the perfume version of Cool Water, although between the two scents, they're very different types of fragrance profiles. Cool Water is a minty lavender with touches of aquatic notes. GIT is a lush iris/violet leaf and ambergris infusion with absolutely no aquatic notes whatsoever. Between them GIT is the better frag hands down, and not aquatic in the least bit. Think green, fresh, floral. Aquatic notes - notes that smell of fresh sweet water - are things you find in Acqua di Gio, but if you do a side-by-side comparison of AdG and GIT, you'd find the latter is far heavier and greener.

...

justinp · Jun 5, 2011

Featherweight said:
It's a misleading scent. GIT is the perfume version of Cool Water, although between the two scents, they're very different types of fragrance profiles. Cool Water is a minty lavender with touches of aquatic notes. GIT is a lush iris/violet leaf and ambergris infusion with absolutely no aquatic notes whatsoever. Between them GIT is the better frag hands down, and not aquatic in the least bit. Think green, fresh, floral. Aquatic notes - notes that smell of fresh sweet water - are things you find in Acqua di Gio, but if you do a side-by-side comparison of AdG and GIT, you'd find the latter is far heavier and greener.

...

Not sure what you mean by 'no aquatic notes.' There's a huge dose of calone in GIT!

Featherweight · Jun 5, 2011

justinp said:
Not sure what you mean by 'no aquatic notes.' There's a huge dose of calone in GIT!

I repeat - aquatic notes, notes that smell of fresh sweet water. Dihydromyrcenol is in GIT, but there's different variations of it, and "calone" in the sense of sweet watery fruit is nowhere to be found. There's only a touch of lemon off the top of GIT, mixed with synthetic verbena and then a very cool violet leaf sets in. Many newbs don't understand violet leaf. It's a very cool, fresh scent, with heavy green underpinnings. It doesn't really smell like violets. It's often mistaken for calone.

...

justinp · Jun 5, 2011

Featherweight said:
I repeat - aquatic notes, notes that smell of fresh sweet water. Dihydromyrcenol is in GIT, but there's different variations of it, and "calone" in the sense of sweet watery fruit is nowhere to be found. There's only a touch of lemon off the top of GIT, mixed with synthetic verbena and then a very cool violet leaf sets in. Many newbs don't understand violet leaf. It's a very cool, fresh scent, with heavy green underpinnings. It doesn't really smell like violets. It's often mistaken for calone.

...

Smells pretty dang similar to me. But evidently you're the expert...

Featherweight · Jun 5, 2011

justinp said:
Smells pretty dang similar to me. But evidently you're the expert...

It does indeed smell similar to Cool Water. Acqua di Gio - not even close. I'm no expert, but it might be a good idea to give Grey Flannel a try whenever you get a chance . . . Grey Flannel has a more naked violet leaf and you'll smell the similarity it has to Green Irish Tweed. You won't, however, smell any similarity between Grey Flannel and Cool Water.

...

justinp · Jun 5, 2011

Featherweight said:
It does indeed smell similar to Cool Water. Acqua di Gio - not even close. I'm no expert, but it might be a good idea to give Grey Flannel a try whenever you get a chance . . . Grey Flannel has a more naked violet leaf and you'll smell the similarity it has to Green Irish Tweed. You won't, however, smell any similarity between Grey Flannel and Cool Water.

...

I wear Grey Flannel regularly, but didn't see any resemblance when I tested GIT. I'll give it a side by side shot and see if I can pick it up, then report back here.

tehtimmeh · Jun 5, 2011

justinp said:
Smells pretty dang similar to me. But evidently you're the expert...

Feather may not be an "expert" per se, but he definitely knows what he is talking about here and I must say I agree with his statements. I'm far from an expert on the subject FWIW!

I think the point is not whether they share a similar scent profile, but rather that they are constructed from very different base ingredients thus reflecting the quality differences.

As ones knowledge and experience increases, so will their discernment and appreciation of the facts he has presented.

StylinLA · Jun 5, 2011

If article in link below by Luca Turin is correct, use of calone in frags started about 1989-90 with New West. The synthetic was created by Pfizer in 1966. When the patent ran out, New West, Escape, Kenzo Homme and Miyake launched it in men's frags. So looks like no calone in GIT or Cool Water.

But it would seem to me like their popularity probably made the the use of calone possible.

http://doublebasenotes.blogspot.com/2007/09/calone-by-luca-turin.html

KarlMaldensNose · Jun 5, 2011

maxman said:
I bought a sample of GIT and was busting at the seams to try it.
When I did..... I didn't like it .
It smells like a chemical plant on me.
I tried really hard to like it, but it just doesn't work on me.

I agree that there seems to be a fascination with it.
Why? I don't know.

Hmmm... any interest in sending the remainder of that sample down to another Ontarian for a monetary sum of your choosing? Maybe even just a sample of the sample, if you want to keep some around for a "What-the-heck, why not?" moment.

My only experience with GIT has been "GIT-type" bath soaps from Malaspina Soap Factory and Queen Charlotte Soaps. Love them both. And I used to wear Cool Water in highschool, so I guess I'm somewhat familiar with it and know it won't make my eyes cross, my head spin, and my stomach turn.

BTW, is your sample by Creed?

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